Recipe - Savory Flax Crackers

For our recent Fat Loss Day we made some flax crackers to use with our low carb dips, but also to show that you can have a really crispy tasty cracker that is wheat free and grain free. There are many great things about these flax crackers including the very healthy fats that are naturally in the flax seeds, the organic vegetables in them that are all raw, they’re really simple to make and the very low carbs within them. You really can’t go wrong. They’re also a great thing to have ready made for those times when you’re peckish and not sure what to go for when you’re new to eating low carb!

Equipment

You’ll ideally need a dehydrator with flexible liner sheets on the shelves. If you don’t have one, use your oven on a VERY low setting, somewhere around 40-45 degC, a baking tray and a flexible liner sheet. After all, you’re not baking these, you’re drying them out!

Ingredients

Ground flax seed (sometimes called flax meal. I’ve seen it in Morrisons and Tesco, but if you struggle Holland and Barret always have it)
1 onion
1 red pepper
4 large tomatoes
2 sticks of celery
salt and pepper (use an unrefined sea salt or some pink Himalayan salt)

Method

1. Roughly chop the onion, pepper, celery and tomatoes and then put them all in a blender or food processor. Blitz them up into a fairly smooth paste and then pour into a bowl.

2. Add some salt and pepper. As much as you think but flax can take quite a bit of salt so perhaps half a teaspoon.

3. Gradually add the ground flax seed and mix it in until you have a smooth spreadable paste. I’ve deliberately ommitted a quantity as it will depend on how big your vegetables were. If you find that you’ve added too much flax and the paste goes too thick (as it will thicken in time anyway) just add a little cold water and mix it in to make a spreadable paste.

4. Spread the paste on your liner sheet (either in your dehydrator or in a baking tray for the oven) to a thickness of around half a centimetre or a quarter of an inch. Don’t worry if it’s not that even but try not to get any really thick areas as they’ll be a bit tough when dried out.

5. Leave in the dehydrator or oven at around 45 degC for at least 12 hours. Check them after that and they’re done if they are completely crisp. If there are any areas even a little bit soft, leave them in for another hour or so and keep checking. It’s not an exact science but you’ll know when they’re done. You can’t really over do them so don’t worry but just check every now and then.

6. Take them out, break them into random pieces of whatever size you want and eat with your favorite toppings or dips! If you put them in an airtight container, they keep for ages. There’s no need to put them in the fridge.

You’ll find that you won’t need many of them to fill you up and keep you satisfied for a long time. This is what happens generally with low carb, high fat and high protein foods.

You can add whatever combinations of flavours you want to them before drying them out. Try chilli, coriander and plenty of lime juice and zest, or top with salt crystals and seeds. Just get creative!

Share your good combos below or when you see me in the clinic.

Spencer